El Cajon

An El Cajon man charged with running a multimillion-dollar methamphetamine laboratory next door to a school was ordered Friday to stand trial on charges of manufacturing and possession of methamphetamine for sale.

Mark White, 29, will be arraigned Feb. 3, a date set by San Diego Municipal Court Judge Charles Hayes, who conducted the preliminary hearing.

The charges stem from a Sept. 11 bust at White’s home next door to Anza School on Merritt Drive.

Initially, narcotics officers estimated the value of the drugs at $44 million, but Deputy Dist. Atty. Dave Lattuca said that estimate was too high.

“It’s definitely a multimillion operation,” said Lattuca.

A charge of receiving stolen property was dismissed because Lattuca said his office could not locate the owner of the stolen stereos.

Darrel Davis, a chemist with the Drug Enforcement Administration, testified that he found 170 to 200 liters of ether and 20 cans of red phosphorus--ingredients used in making the drug--at the home.

Davis estimated the lab could have been producing 10 to 20 pounds of methamphetamine a week.

White also was bound over to Superior Court on a charge of illegal possession of an automatic gun.

He remains free on a $127,000 property bond.